Oceans and seas make our blue planet liveable. They give us oxygen, food and raw materials. They regulate our climate, by taking up more than 25% of our annual fossil fuel emissions and storing 90% of the heat/energy generated by the greenhouse effect. They harbour the largest ecosystems in the world with a wealth of marine species. The overarching research questions at NIOZ are related to understanding how these marine systems work, how they are changing due to natural processes and human activities, and what benefits can be obtained from them in a sustainable manner. You can read more about this in the NIOZ Strategy 2023-2028. 

NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research as the national lead centre of marine expertise works closely together with Dutch universities to strengthen marine science in the Netherlands. The Marine Masters Summer Course contributes to this by giving students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with marine research, including the opportunity to experience working on research vessels. The course covers physics, chemistry, biology, geology as the pillars of oceanography. It is hosted at NIOZ Texel and uses the western Wadden Sea as hands-on research area.

Learning objectives of the course

• To identify current topics in the marine sciences, ranging from marine biology, physical oceanography and marine chemistry to marine geology;
• to identify and describe methods of sampling and observation commonly used in oceanography, including techniques and instruments used on research vessels;
• to conduct a group-based research project using basic sampling techniques to collect data in the field, perform laboratory analyses, analyse and interpret obtained data and prepare a presentation of the results;
• to present and discuss research results in a multidisciplinary framework.

Course content
The course includes a pre-course reading assignment, classroom lectures, field- and lab work, data analysis and an oral presentation. On the first day, a series of introductory lectures on physical oceanography, marine chemistry, marine geology and marine ecology will be given. In the three days thereafter, various equipment and methods of sampling and data collection in the field and in the NIOZ labs will be demonstrated, and students will collect data in small groups in the western Wadden Sea on the research vessel Wim Wolff and/or on the tidal flats. In the remaining time of the course, students devote themselves to individual research projects, which are supervised by NIOZ researchers. Depending on the project, the work will include laboratory work and/or modelling, and all projects will involve data analysis, interpretation of acquired data and the preparation of a presentation in week two. Furthermore, early career researchers will present current research activities at NIOZ in the second week. The students' assessment will be based on demonstrated performance during practical work, data analysis and the oral presentation of the results.

The program for 2025 roughly looks like this:

In order to get an idea of the kind of group projects the course is offering, please have a look at the descriptions of the student projects of the 2022 course and the descriptions of the 2023 course. You can also read the student blogs (2017, 2018, 2019, 2024) or have a look at the Instagram Stories of the 2022, 2023 or 2024 course to find out about the students' experiences.

As the course involves sampling on tidal flats and on board the research vessel Wim Wolff, a good physical condition is required. If you have any doubts, please contact education coordinator Dörte Poszig.    

Admission requirements
The course is open to students with a BSc degree in studies related to oceanography from Dutch as well as foreign universities. BSc students who have completed their Bachelor course work, but have not yet obtained their degree, can also apply. Students must have the nationality of a European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland, or must have a Dutch residence permit for studying at a Dutch university at the time of the course. The course is limited to 33 students. Applications by students in their first or second year of their master studies will be given priority in case there will be more applications than spots on the course. Proficiency in English is required.

Credits
NIOZ will inform the student's university about their participation in the course as well as the student's grade. Participation is rewarded with 3 - 4 ECTS, depending on university (ECTS granting needs to be done by the student's university, so students are asked to inquire with their university about the possibility to have the course count towards their ECTS requirements).

Course enrolment
The next NIOZ Marine Masters Summer Course will take place 6-18 July 2025. Registration for the course closed on 31 March 2025. Students who applied will be informed about the selection outcome no later than 15 April 2025. The selection for admission to the course will be done on the basis of before-mentioned admission requirements and the motivation which all students need to include in the registration form.

Course location, accommodation, meals and course fee
The course is held at NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research on Texel. Participants will be staying at the Potvis Campus, ‘t Horntje, Texel, in dormitory rooms or other group accommodation close-by, with very little privacy.  During the course, the students are responsible for the cleaning of their quarters. A contribution of 480 Euro is charged for lodging and meals. For reasons of sustainability, there will be vegan and vegetarian meals only.

For inquiries about the scientific content of the course:
Prof. Dr. Gert-Jan Reichart
Dr. Henko de Stigter

For all other inquiries:
Dörte Poszig, education coordinator